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Six teams punched their ticket to the World Cup on Tuesday, nabbing the tournament’s final remaining spots.
Iraq, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Turkey, Sweden, Czechia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina fill out the 48-team pool, the largest in tournament history. The expansion means the 2026 World Cup will be the first with a knockout round of 32 teams. The tournament hosted by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada runs June 11 through July 19.
Iraq and the Democratic Republic of the Congo earned their participation in the tournament through FIFA’s intercontinental six-team playoff in Mexico this week. Iraq asked FIFA to delay its match amid airspace and visa issues caused by the ongoing war in the Middle East, but ended up successfully making the trip to Monterrey.
The other four nations competed in a 16-team European playoff. Bosnia and Herzegovina beat four-time World Cup champion Italy, delivering a third straight missed World Cup for the former powerhouse. Italy has not qualified for a men’s World Cup since 2014, although it did win a European title in 2021.
Meanwhile Sweden—who lost all qualifiers but slid into the playoffs based on their UEFA Nations League ranking—is back at the World Cup after beating Ukraine and Poland.
Turkey joins the United States in Group D, and the two countries will face each other on June 25 in Los Angeles.
Celebrations erupted throughout the qualifying countries. Packed crowds danced in Sarajevo. Fireworks went off in Baghdad. In Kinshasa, fans took to the streets and officials declared a national holiday to mark the DRC’s first World Cup in 52 years.
It had briefly appeared that another World Cup spot would open if Iran was not able to participate.
But on Tuesday, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said that Iran will be in the World Cup—played as scheduled. Iran is set to play three matches on U.S. soil—with the potential to face the host country in the round of 32—and had requested to move its games to Mexico.
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